in the meantime if you want to look into it yourself we have built a toolkit on our website. thank you for being with us lt links on this story at our website. "first look" is up next. good friday morning. right now on "first look," do doping? yes. lance armstrong old oprah it was one big lie he repeated many times. did it hurt him? notre dame's manti te'o talked about the death of his girlfriend twice. but she was never dead because she never existed. preparations for the inauguration are well under way. and back to the future of another kind. good morning. i'm marah schiavocampo.

one big lie. that's what lance armstrong said for the first time ever. the seven-time tour de france winner admitted. the world's most famous cyclist talked about the allegations that have been plaguing him for years. this as the justice department extended a deadline as to whether to intervene. kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: a one-word answer. >> did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance? >> yes. >> reporter: after years of denials, seven-time tour de france winner lance armstrong admitted to oprah winfrey he did use performance enhancing drugs. >> in all seven of your tour de france victories, did you ever take banned substances or blood dope? >> yes. >> reporter: it's an admission armstrong had spent more than a decade denying. >> i've used this situation as

one big lie that i repeated a lot of times. >> those who have followed armstrong say tonight's admission is self-serving. >> i believe that he's completely insincere except for this. he is starting to repair his own brand. >> reporter: a brand that has lost millions in endorsements after armstrong was stripped of his seven tour de france cycles. on thursday, the international olympic committee stripped armstrong of the bronze medal he won during the 2000 sydney olympics. >> i'll spend the rest of my life trying to earn back trust and apologize to people. >> reporter: accolades gone for a sports icon now coming clean. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> the speculation continues to swirl this morning around notre dame's all-american linebacker manti te'o and the mystery surrounding a girlfriend he publicly mourned and now says never existed.

he claims he was the victim of an elaborate hoax. news stories are sifting through months of news footage, raising even more questions. an associated press review finds the heisman trophy runner up perpetuated the heartbreaking story even after he learned she didn't exist, talking to interviewers about her on december 8th and 11th. the university says he learned of the hoax on december 8th, which leaves us to wednesdonder we'll hear from him. now details are emerging about the algerian raid to rescue captives. some americans are escaped but others are unaccounted for or still being held. duncan, good morning. what's the latest? >> reporter: good morning, marah. the latest we're hearing is a u.s. plane has landed deep in the sahara desert. we still have no confirmation of

how many hostages escaped from yesterday's operation and how many were killed. certainly, we think six foreign workers were killed. we also are hearing from a local news agency that one of the militants is saying 35 of the hostages were killed. that's unconfirmed. the numbers keep on changing, reflecting how hard it is to get information out of that site, deep in the sahara desert. also, that the situation on the ground keeps on changing. it is ongoing. there are some reports that the militants are still holding on to some of their hostages. the algerian government say they had to act in the way they did yesterday because the islamic militants were threatening to move the hostages. certainly the government didn't consult any of the foreign governments around the world who are concerned about their citizens. the only foreign involvement that we know of is that a u.s. surveillance drone was over the plant. marah. >> all right. thank you. for the first time in over two decades, the u.s. has

recognized the government of somalia. secretary of state hillary clinton calls the official recognition a milestone in somalia's fight against islamic extremists. somalia's president was in washington for the announcement. the u.s. had not recognized somalia since 1991 when war lords overthrew the government and a civil war followed. well, first lady michelle obama was in fine form celebrating her 49th birthday. the white house says the president and mrs. obama dined with friends last night at an italian restaurant in washington's upscale georgetown neighborhood. earlier in the day, the first lady debuted her hairdo, featuring new bangs in a twitter picture posted online. we'll see if it's featured during the next several days of inaugural festivities. the preparations and parties for the president's big day are well under way. nbc's traci potts has the details. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. there are going to be a lot of people here in washington.

we're expecting between 600,000 and 800,000. while that pales in comparison to the nearly 200 million we saw four years ago. hotels are certainly filling up, and security is a big concern. it's a big issue. the secret service has 100 stations planted around the city, at least so far. 42 different agencies involved in that, keeping in mind they have to secure not only the national mall where everyone will gather for the ceremony, but the entire parade route to the white house, across from the white house, the viewing stand, which is already being set up. this is certainly a massive undertaking. the white house tells us that president obama is working on that speech. analysts say he'd be smart not to make it a partisan speech, sort of keep it down the middle. >> all right. traci potts in washington, thank you. msnbc will have wall-to-wall coverage of president obama's

second inauguration on monday beginning with a special edition of "morning joe" live from washington, d.c. here's your first look at this morning's scrambled dish of politics. house republicans are holding a retreat in williamsburg, virginia. the gop is focusing on a number of key areas, one of them being how to reach out to minority voters. this particular session is being held in a room named for a wealthy 18th century slave owner. probably not the best choice. president obama's political organization will now become a tax exempt group to support his second-term agenda. obama for america will relaunch on sunday after he takes the official oath of office. wax statues of president obama and the first lady got an updated look, including more grey hair for the president. the wax museum in washington exhibited the statues of the first couple on top of a double decker bus on thursday. ever wonder about the expenses for america's presidents? well, he earns $400,000 a year

in salary, but he gets $191,000 a year after he leaves office. he has 468 people on his staff, which costs about $36 million. air force one costs about $180,000 an hour to run. the cost of running the white house is estimated at $ 1.6 billion. ain't cheap being president. if you want to buy the most famous house in america, it's estimated to be worth almost $295 million. like other american houses, its value was estimated to be much higher and nearly $300 million in 2006. took a dip in the housing market. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. now for a look at the national weather, we turn to meteorologist bill karins. good morning. >> you think he's under on the mortgage? probably should resell now. good morning. big arctic air mass heading into the u.s. over the next couple days. the story yesterday was the snow. we started yesterday morning with the snow in mississippi. it caused enough problems there.

we did have a couple accidents that turned deadly, unfortunately. then we had the snow that moved up through virginia. the mountains of virginia got nail, picking up 6 to 10 inches of snow. not a lot about richmond or raleigh. an inch to half an inch at most. d.c. didn't really see anything at all. just flurries north of d.c. the storm is, by the way, just barely clipping the islands here. the roads will probably be snow covered there. you can see these snow flurries and snow showers over central jersey. i know new york city has had snow flurries too. that shouldn't be any problem for the roads. as far as what's going to be happening next, this is the last mild day today. it's a beautiful day through much of the country. temperatures in the 50s. even where it snowed yesterday, getting into the 40s. minneapolis northwards, this is your last warm day. this blue and white and purpole and extreme whites up here, all

this frigid air is going to make a dive at us. it will be just north of the border on saturday. it makes the dive on sunday. monday and tuesday it's over the great lakes and into areas of northern new england. we have to be prepared for the coldest air of the season in many areas. we're including chicago in that, detroit, all the way to minneapolis. look at chicago. we go from 40s on saturday to sunday, monday, tuesday, temperatures struggling to get to 20 degrees. the bottom line is this is what you expect in winter a couple times. this will be exceptionally cold. minneapolis, they're expecting the coldest air in four years. this is a serious blast of arctic air. >> wow. a sharp dip there in chicago. well, lance armstrong helps juice oprah's network. the latest nbc news polls on guns in america. and we'll show you a 12-pound gold nugget found on a beach. plus, look at this frightening video. a purse thief grabbed a woman on

the subway platform and hurls her on the tracks. what happens after that? we'll show you next. ♪

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welcome back. here are some other stories making news this morning. the latest msnbc wall street journal poll found that 56% of americans want stricter gun laws. that's less than the 60% who supported stronger laws in the '90s. the new poll found that 7% say the gun laws are too strict now. 35% want no changes. new jersey governor chris christie says the new nra ad using president obama's daughters to make a point about armed guards at schools is, quote, reprehensible. a new poll from george washington university found that 55% of young people are likely to display their political affiliation on social media. liberals were more likely to post public messages than conservatives, and they're more likely to block people because of their political views. the mother of offering popular advice, known as dear abbey.

pauline phillips was 94. and check this out. we searchers have created a new gadget that can snap photographs of snowflakes in 3d. the device uses three high-speed cameras and infrared sensors to capture the amazing photos while the snowflakes are in free fall. very, very cool. weill a rebound in the world's second largest economy be a bump for the stock exchange? today, we'll see how investors react. stocks came to life thursday thanks to a surprising jump in housing starts and the lowest weekly jobless numbers since january 2008. after the bell, intel ticked lower despite better than expected earnings. more corporate reports ahead today include heavy hitters general electric, part owner of this network, and morgan stanley. gold prices settled around $1690 thursday, meaning that this

177-ounce gold nugget reportedly discovered with a metal detector in australia is worth $300,000. what a find. toyota has settled the first wrongful death lawsuits. oprah winfrey's interview with lance armstrong has turned a pretty penny for her new cable network. according to an executive, ads were expected to sell out. well, so much for towels and juicers. dodge wants people to pitch in for a new car. meanwhile, january is the best time to find travel deals. the four seasons resort on the big island of hawaii.

trip adviser named it the best resort in the world. well, sports is straight ahead on "first look." plus, stories from across america, including a horrible crime in philly. and when u.s. senators go hunting for burmese pythons. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] some day, your life will flash before your eyes. ♪ make it worth watching. ♪ the new 2013 lexus ls. an entirely new pursuit.

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now to some other stories that caught our eye this morning. in philadelphia, disturbing surveillance video captured a vicious attack on a subway platform earlier this week. it shows a man beating a woman and tossing her on to train tracks before stealing her jacket and cell phone. fortunately, the 23-year-old victim survived with cuts and bruises. police caught the suspect because he was wearing the jacket. in the everglades, bill nelson got down and dirty on a python hunt thursday. the senator is trying to draw attention to the problem of the giant nonnative snakes, which have been known to eat deer and alligators. the senator's expedition turned up no pythons. in south dakota, an anonymous donor gave students $10 each with specific instructions to use the money for good. one student bought a blanket for a church baby shower while another paid for lunch so his mother wouldn't have to. this is the school's third

donation encouraging students to pay it forward. very sweet. in sports, third rank duke hosted georgia tech. it was a 73-57 victory. number five michigan faced number nine minnesota. the wolverines glen robinson iii made a steal and a spectacular 360-degree jam. in the nba, milwaukee surged in the second half against phoenix, and the bucks beat the suns 98-94 for their first win in phoenix in 26 years. the nfl playoffs on sunday, atlanta hosts san francisco in the nfc championship game. the ravens are in new england for the afc title game. the winners will meet for the super bowl in new orleans on february 3rd. listen to this. organized crime infringing on the world's most popular sport. there are new reports out that some 50 national soccer leagues are being targeted by criminal gangs trying to fix matches. fifa says in 2012 it was

involved in dozens of match fixing investigations, which reportedly accounts for billions in illegal betting. now turning to weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> you have any favorites in these football games? >> italy always. >> big italy fan? >> i'm italian. >> i learn something new every day. >> schiavocampo. >> my irish roots, not the best. >> you can root for italy. >> i'll go for spain, jump on the bandwagon. let me take you through your weekend forecast. looking at nice conditions across the northeast. it will be a little brisk, but at least it's not going to be dry. not many slippery roads, with the exception of cape cod. temperatures where they should be for the most part. i know northern new england, you are pretty chilly this morning. enjoy this warm day while it lasts. chicago, kansas city, st. louis, the great lakes to minneapolis. this is it. the warmest you're probably going to be maybe for another couple weeks. we take the plunge from here. we begin to see signs of it on

saturday with a high of 32 in minneapolis. a beautiful weekend day on saturday on the east coast. then as we get into sunday, the cold air really arrives. a high of 5 in minneapolis. chicago at 20 with some snow showers. the great lakes will deal with some snow showers. of course, we had the inauguration as we go into monday. the cold air will be arriving during the day. maybe a few snow flurries. high of only $34. windchill in the upper 20s. anyone on the parade route, everyone will be bundled up. >> i have no sympathy. last time it was about 19 degrees and i was out there for 12 hours. piece of cake. thanks, bill. just ahead, robert redford unchained. plus, roads, who needs roads? back to the future now. check out this retro fitted hovercraft. you're watching "first look" on msnbc . look, if you have copd like me,

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we have a recording of a phone conversation between manti and his supposed girlfriend. i have to be honest. i'm really surprised manti didn't pick up on the hoax sooner. >> hey, baby. what are you up to tonight? >> your call is very important. please listen carefully, as the options have changed. >> yeah, i'm thinking i might stay in tonight. >> me too. i plan on just chilling like a vill-i-an. i miss you. >> yeah, i don't know. >> ouch. well, arnold said he would be back. "the land stand" marks arnold schwarzenegger's first leading role since 2003. that might not be enough for a box office lead.

"mama" is expected to take the top spot. mark wahlberg's "broken city" is expected to finish last. > . the sundance film festival kicked off thursday where founder robert redford reiterated the festival's independent spirit. >> as long as we go forward and we adapt to change, we keep in touch with our original purpose, which is simply to support and develop new voices to be seen and heard and do whatever we can to promote that. well, sometimes you never know what you'll see in the san francisco bay, including a delorean themed hovercraft straight out of "back to the future." wherever they're going, they will not need roads. the second one they went to 2015 where they had the hovercraft skateboard things. in three for years, we should

expect those. >> i always wanted those. >> we'll get them. well, i'm mara schiavocampo. this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" starts right now. did you ever take banned substances to enhance your cycling performance? >> yes. >> yes or no, was one of those banned substances epo? >> yes. >> did you ever blood dope or use blood transfusions to enhance your cycling performance? >> yes. >> did you ever use any other banned substances like testosterone, cortisone or human growth hormone? >> yes. >> yes or no, in all seven of your tour de france victories, did you ever take